Macroscopic;Histological;and Microbiological Characterization of Contact Lesions at the Tibiotarsal Region of Broilers

Brazil is considered as a great broiler feet exporter;especially for the Chinese trade. Contact lesions at the tibiotarsal region are responsible for economic losses and there is no model for its classification;thereby this study presents a fast and practical grade system to be used in the poultry industry and proposes these lesion characterizations into three different grades. For this;correlation was made between macroscopic;histological findings and microbiological quantification (Escherichia coli;Staphylococcus spp.;Streptococcus spp. and sulphite-reducing clostridia) from contact lesions in the tibiotarsal region of 112 broiler carcasses;divided in four groups (n=28);accordingly to the lesion’s intensity. There were no significant differences in microbiological quantification among the groups (p>0.05) except for the grade 3 group;as grade 1 and 2 lesions were in the early stages and histopathological changes such as ulceration were not observed. In grade 3 lesion group;it was observed bacterial cocci grume and ulceration at the articular region and significantly higher microbiological count (p<0.05) for E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. In conclusion;the visual standard proposed in this work;correlated and confirmed by the histopathologic;and microbiologic characterization;allows to precise and fast ascertainment of the contact lesion grade in the tibiotarsal regions of broiler carcasses. Moreover;it should be highlighted that grades 1 and 2 alterations are not caused by an inflammatory process caused by pathogenic agents and should not be considered a public health risk.